The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-02-01


msined angry at him long. He was
so ready to acknowledge his faults,
and so very sorry for the many vexa-
tious mistakes he made, and he had
such really contrite and II will do
| better" expression i'm his expressive
face when. begging for. another trial.
that he had kept on getting. another
trial ever since he made his first ap-
pearance as general helper Gust after
his twelfth birthday and the threat of
discharge had never been carried out
] make a mistake. Iti'was once.
That week Bob had been qhconfmoniy
trying and had wound up on Saturday
by suddenly daring loaded with par
GELS, from dark corner directly in the
way of a stout customer from the West,
In consequence of which proceeding
the stout customer measured his length
upon the floor with the parcels upon
his head and the parcel carrier across
his back. What that Western man
said when. shaking OF both boy and
parcels, ne ,regained his; feet. worlds
could moi induce me to repeat. Suffice
It to say that the surrounding air was
blue with strange swsar-words for five
minutes thereafter. and the scamp
Todd, summoned to. headquarters, WAS
paid bis weeks wages and was imme-
diatefy sent adrift. $50 .t..,Eia 3--tla
Bright aud early the following Mon
day morning a lad came briskly into
the superintendent office. He was as
neat as neatuess itself. He carried his
hat In his hand and his face beamed
with the pride of conscious virtue. 81
hear, SIR" he said, i'm arespectful voice,
''that you were obliged to fire your
generally useful boy last. Saturday for
being so awkward as to upset strange
gent, and Il should like very much in
deed to have his place. I've had ex-
perience in the business and i llpromise
not 10 spill anybody on the floor, and
to endeayor to promote the interests
of the firm in every way can" ..
The superintendent burst out laugh
ing. $50 along to your work." he
said.
The new boy was the old boy-that
scamp Todd. And yet this intensely
respectful youth, before the day was
over, had replied to some question adj
dressed him by the dignified senior
member of the house with: "I'll be
blowed If know, sir. '-'' ''
But with all his faults there was one
thing Bob was not. He was not talka-
tive. Not that he would have found
any one disposed to talk with him if he
had been, with the single exception of
the porter, good-natured German
who often shared an abundant lunch
with him and discoursed meanwhile of
Gretchen, Nina, Peter, and others of
the Seiger family. But not a word of
his own family did the boy say in re-
turn for these condolences, and so
Seiger knew no more of him and his
belongings than did any one else. To.
tell the truth no one in that busy place
had ever thought of him AS having any
belongings, or in any way at all save
as that scamp Todd, until December
%, 1888, when a clerk on the floor level
with the street, who was calling out
some numbers in monotonous tone
from big book which lay. on the desk
before him, said numbers being re-
peated in an equally monOtonous tone
as fast as they were called. BY 3 fellow.
clerk, who stood some distance
from him, became suddenly
aware Of strange presence-as they
say in the ghost stories-and lifting his
eyes saw the prettiest girl he had ever
seen in all his twenty-five years stand
ing before him. 81 beg bardoh," he
stanmered. snatching of his hat and
reaching for his coat, "can | do any
thing for you?' By this time the re-
peater, thinking he had waited long
,rrb s., |Ia hax FL
'Why the dew and then raising his
eyes, also saw the prettiest of young
women and also snatched off his hat
and reached for his coat.
The girls sweet face grew rosy as a
summer dawn. 81 would like" she
said i'm low, falterlng tones, ''to see
Robert Todd. He is my brother. L
should not have come had it not been
something very importaflt. ~ 80
"Oh! I'm sure you're exceediE gly
welcome" began the first enumerator.
THAT is. it doesn't make any differ
ence. i should say-Hey, Seiger," he
broke off TO call to the porter, who
happened to be going by, 'stell that
scam-I mean tell Robert Todd his
sister would like TO see him. ~
Robert" said the porter wonder
ingly as the second enumeration
brought forward chair. which the
lovely apparition accepted with mu-.
steal THANK you"
Eyes, Robert Todd. Don't you knowi
Our boy"
"Ya, ya,' said Seiger. "Robairt
lott. / fetch him -.
And away he trotted with comical
twinkle in his small gray eyes and a
backward glance at RObairt's sister.
can't imagine now it got all over that
large establishment il a few moments
that that scamp Todd had a grown-up
sister: that she was distractingly
pretty; and that she had come to see
him, and was waiting in the enumera-
tors room, but il did, and almost
every man employed there managed to
get down stairs-it being lunch time
and take peep at her.